a digital happening??

The latest area of research we are looking at is ‘happenings’. So after some reading here are some quotes I have collected

‘ The happening is the most delightful and exciting challenge to theatrical deadweight in many a year. Increasingly the young people put them on while the theatre institution wonders where everybody is and whatever became of Broadway.’

‘The happening is about man’s displacement from order.’

A happening is an… ‘art work enclosing the observer’...’engulf’

Al Hansen ‘A primer of happenings time/space art’ (this book has been taken out about 30 times from out library, the first time appears to be 1979) Its old stuff I’m looking at here.

Happenings were exciting events people wanted to go to, they challenged the conventions of traditional theatre and performance. I wonder if today a happening in relation to digital technology would work.

Challenging the conventions of digital technology might be tricky, as I think it’s hard to see clear boundaries or confines. We have narrative and non narrative I suppose.

Artists who challenged our perception of old technology are interesting such as Archangel through his game modifications. But it may interesting to combine a physical space with in which technology could be performance. Projections and screens seem so passive. How could we create a moving, or tactile piece…?